Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Shares Sold by Nicolet Advisory Services LLC

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) by 14.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,978 shares of the natural resource company’s stock after selling 1,913 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FCX. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 833 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 62,015 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 25,980 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,102 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 10,421 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 8,584 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $343,531.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 48,333 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,286.66. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $40.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $57.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.05. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $52.61.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 7.45%. The firm had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 22.73%.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.